9 June 2009Love as Thou Wilt

I’m reading a historical fantasy series – actually a series of series, which is what tends to happen in the oh-so-epic world of speculative ficton – that I originally started many years ago. It’s by Jacqueline Carey and I love it because it explores a sort of libertine utopia in a way that is scintillating but also very interesting on a more intellectual level.

In my head I’ve started referring to Carey as “the good Ayn Rand” because, like Rand, Carey writes very long, speculative fiction featuring a strong female character who enjoys S&M and freely peruses her destiny via capitalism (I speak of Kushiel’s Dart et al versus Atlas Shrugged) but, unlike Rand, Carey’s main character is not antisocial and understands the importance of being connected to others. She also happens to live in a world that is much more accepting of strong females who enjoy S&M, which is a fun bonus.